Expertise

Environmental law

Industrial companies from all sectors, real estate players (development, promotion, asset management, etc.), financial institutions and other project owners are increasingly faced with environmental issues. For these operators, demanding and complex environmental legislation can be synonymous with legal constraints, costs, red tape and multiple risks. Today, however, seamless environmental integration, sustainable development and CSR are assets in the pursuit of operational excellence.

Located throughout France, close to the field and to businesses, the lawyers and legal experts of our environmental department advise and represent their clients before courts, administrations and vis-à-vis their economic partners.

Our goal? To anticipate risks, ensure the legal security of business operations, facilitate projects and enable management to seize all the opportunities offered by environmental law. To do so, we assist companies at every stage of their project and choose the solutions best suited to their economic interests.

Our environmental law teams are able to devise global solutions, drawing on the great breadth of Fidal’s practice areas (real estate law, corporate law, tax law, dispute resolution, etc.) to provide an integrated, cutting-edge service offering.

Our services

Classified Facilities, Quarries and Mines

Assistance at the outset of industrial operations (review and follow-up of administrative applications, negotiation of functional requirements, etc.)
Support during industrial operations (implementation of the various legal procedures and processes applicable upon changes in activity, location and/or regulations)
Managing operational incidents (incidents, accidents, pollution, dealings with the authorities, etc.)
Managing the end of operations / relocation / site transfer (decommissioning, safety and rehabilitation procedures, etc.).

Waste

Drafting of waste disposal and reclamation contracts / waste spreading contracts / transport contracts / cross-border waste transfer contracts
Risks and liability associated with waste management
Legal studies on waste from economic activities (end-of-waste status, extended producer responsibility and eco-participation) and agricultural waste

Water and Biodiversity

Assistance with authorization / filing procedures for IOTAs (Facilities, Structures, Works and Improvements) subject to water legislation (legal analysis of applications, assistance with complex procedures)
Implementation of water management and planning instruments (SAGE and river contracts)
Assistance in obtaining wastewater discharge permits and negotiating discharge agreements
Managing conflicts with public water and wastewater services

Renewable Energies

Advice and litigation on wind and photovoltaic projects
Hydroelectric power plants
Energy saving certificates

Real Estate and the Environment

Assistance with real estate acquisitions:

Legal advice and environmental due diligence on the target business, environmental liabilities and polluted sites and soils
Definition of environmental liabilities, transfer and responsibility depending on the contemplated transaction (merger, share deal, asset deal, etc.)
Assistance in negotiating and drawing up easements and restrictions on use
Setting up and negotiating environmental clauses to protect the client's interests/adapting the contract to the environmental situation of the company/site/property
Assistance with property rentals

Environmental Aspects of Corporate Operations (restructuring, transfer, insolvency proceedings)

Audits, recommendations, assistance in defining a contractual strategy and negotiating covenants and warranties
Drafting of clauses, environmental assistance in insolvency proceedings